Ike Perlmutter: Controversial Marvel Mogul Out at Disney

Last Updated on March 31, 2023

Ike Perlmutter, the controversial former head of Marvel Studios, is no longer with Disney. According to a story on THR, the move came following a failed proxy battle where he was allied with Nelson Peltz. This fight was dropped following a strong quarterly turnaround in the company’s profits under Bob Iger. Perlmutter famously acquired Marvel in 1998 and helped orchestrate the company’s sale to Disney for $4 billion in 2009. Perlmutter has been a controversial figure over the years and hasn’t been a part of Marvel Studios since 2015, following a public feud with Kevin Feige. Instead, he controlled Marvel Entertainment, but the unit has now been folded into other parts of the company.

Feige and Perlmutter have had a fraught relationship for years, with it recently revealed that at one point, Feige considered leaving the studio altogether. Indeed, Bob Iger recently revealed that Perlmutter wanted to fire Feige, but Iger arranged things so that Feige would no longer have to report to Perlmutter.

Perlmutter’s removal is unlikely to change much going forward for Marvel, as he hasn’t been a force within Marvel Entertainment in some time. While controversial, it should be noted that Perlmutter was instrumental in launching Marvel Studios as a filmmaking powerhouse, so he deserves some credit there. All of this comes along at a fraught time for the studio, with top Marvel executive Victoria Alonso recently being fired, along with the mediocre box office and fan reception to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This film was supposed to launch Marvel Phase 5. Indeed, the big bad they’ve set up, Kang, has also become a bit troublesome for the studio, with actor Jonathan Majors recently being arrested in NYC, although he maintains his innocence. It looks like things at the House of Mouse are being shaken up, but then again, Marvel’s track record has been pretty exceptional thus far, so fans shouldn’t be all that concerned.